1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to an apparatus for safely using and disposing of intravenous needles.
2. Description of the Prior Art. The need exists in the art to protect doctors, nurses, other health practitioners, and others who may come into contact with used needles, from being pricked with needles after the needles have been used intravenously. In particular, an apparatus is needed to prevent needle pricks during or directly after use of needles to thereby prevent the transmission of blood-carried diseases or organisms via used needles, such as hepatitis and HIV (the AIDS related virus). The need also exists in the art to safely dispose of needles after they have been used, so that others, such as waste handlers, do not accidentally get pricked with the needles and thereby exposed to blood-carried diseases or organisms.
A common practice in the art is to cut needles so that they can't be reused. However, this practice may even increase the chances of a health practitioner getting pricked with a needle and certainly does not prevent accidental pricks after disposal.
Several devices have been developed in the art which provide a sheath member around the used needle, to prevent needle pricks. The most common device in the art is a needle cap which is removed from the needle before use and placed back on the needle after use for disposal. However, practitioners often stick themselves with needles when they replace this cap. Moreover, the cap can be removed after disposal, thereby potentially exposing others to needle pricks. Mounted devices exist in the art for preventing needle pricks when the cap is replaced; these mounted devices consist of circular holders for holding the cap while the needle is replaced in the cap, so that the practitioner does not need to hold the cap. However, if the cap is not seated correctly within the holder, the practitioner may have to use his or her hand to hold the cap, thereby defeating the purpose of the mounted device. Moreover, these devices are permanently mounted and thus not useful in situations requiring more mobility for the practitioner, such as in a hospital room.
Another practice to prevent needle pricks is to have the practitioner discard uncapped or unsheathed needles into a waste bin. However, this often does not protect waste handlers from being pricked with needles
Several syringes or blood-drawing devices have been developed in the art to provide a sheath or guard which can be extended or forced over the needle after use. Such devices are represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,057, entitled "Shielded Needle," to Mitchell; U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,200, entitled "Safety Blood Donor Apparatus," to Jennings, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,751, entitled "Liquid Dispensing and Receiving Syringe," to Harbaugh; U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,654, entitled "Automatic Protracting and Locking Hypodermic Needle Guard," to Strauss; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,783, entitled "Retractable Safety Needle," to Jagger, et al. The guards on these devices are not retrofittable with conventional syringes or blood-drawing devices; thus the devices cannot be utilized in all situations with conventional needles. Also, in the '057, '751, '654, and 783 Patents, the open ends of the guards do not prevent fluids from dripping out. Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,543, entitled "Hypodermic Needle Protection Means," to Blum, which teaches pushing the needle against a hard surface for allowing the needle to be forced into a housing. This device, however, may cause a practitioner to get pricked with the needle if the hard surface is not adequate. Also, there is no assurance that the needle will go completely into the housing and a careless practitioner may dispose the needle/housing arrangement with the needle sticking partially out. Furthermore, as with the devices discussed above, this housing cannot be utilized with standard intravenous needles; the needle/housing arrangement must be purchased and used as a single unit.
Thus, the need exists in the art to provide an apparatus, which can be used with conventional needles, for safely disposing used needles and for preventing needle pricks. An apparatus which also prevents fluids from dripping off the needles and out of associated tubing is also needed.